"Chito and Yeshi can be seen packing frequently in the
wilderness near their home in Steamboat, Colorado."

HOW DO YOU TRAIN A YAK TO PACK?
Combining our love for animals and our love of our nearby Wilderness area, we began raising and training Royal Tibetan Yaks to trek and pack on our small ranch south of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, several years ago. The beast of burden in five Himalayan countries, these intelligent animals make ideal livestock to raise in our Colorado mountains; the classic "easy keeper" in that they are easily fenced, eat considerably less than cattle, and have no birthing problems.

Yaks make ideal trekking companions. As adults they can carry as much as a pack horse, an average of 150 pounds, and yet need no additional or special feed. They are extremely efficient eaters and simply browse on whatever is available. Their small split hoof is easy on trails and they are easily tethered, lying quietly at night. Their excellent sight and smell alerts you to anything long before you sense it. In addition, they are extremely sure footed, allowing them to pack an elk out of terrain too rugged for horses.

How does one train a yak to pack? We are there when the babies are born and imprint with them their first few hours. We spend time with them every day handling the heifer calves and supplementing their mother's milk with a bottle. Upon weaning, we halter- break the heifers and begin leading them behind one of our older, trained ladies. When they lead easily, we begin expanding their horizons, taking them on short walks down our country roads much to the interest of our neighbors. Each day brings new experiences: telephone poles, trash cans, dogs, cars, bicycles, etc.. With patience and repetition, after several months they are desensitized to ordinary things and ready to start loading in the trailer and going to the trail heads. They are soon at ease sharing the trail with horses, llamas, dogs, fishermen and other hikers. The hard part is over and the only problem now is that on a busy trail, it takes forever to trek because everyone you meet wants to know what kind of animals they are and all about them.

In addition to trekking with our yaks, we groom them in the Spring, selling their fine , cashmere-like underhair to hand spinners. After our "girls" are well-trained, they are ready to go to a good home that is looking for an unusual and sturdy companion to trek with.

Do contact us for prices and availability. We would love to hear from you!

YAMPA VALLEY YAKS
P.O. Box 1103
Steamboat Springs, Colorado 80447
970-879-1789

sandhlear@gmail.com